Chapter 806: Sounding Out! (2/2)
A while later, in a forest…
”How was it? You didn't make him suspicious, right?” the vicious and burly man asked at the child.
”No, he didn't even glance at me.”
The child shook his head.
”Mm. Then did you see a symbol on his hand?” the burly man said.
The child shook his head.
……
On another road…
Rumble!
There was a massive boom as a carriage heedlessly passed by, knocking over several carriages before eventually crashing into the large black carriage at the very front, so badly damaging the carriage that even a wheel was sent flying.
”Damn it! You bastards—do none of you have eyes? Do you not even see what's on the road!” A Hu immediately jumped out of the carriage, his entire body boiling with anger.
”Sorry, sorry, the horse got out of control… We'll definitely compensate you for the losses, definitely!” A middle-aged merchant jumped out of the carriage that had caused the accident and immediately began to speak about compensation.
A while later, two stalwart men met up on the side of the road. ”Tell Lord Marquis that this road was also the wrong one. The person Lord Marquis wanted us to find is not this one. His hand does not bear the black jade symbol.”
Flapflap! A carrier pigeon took off into the air.
……
”Hyah!”
On the third road, ten-some horsemen were whipping the horses into a gallop. These people were traveling at maximum speed, and riding together, they stirred up a massive gale on the road. Whoosh! They galloped past a Hu merchant, the fierce winds causing the merchant's sleeves to flap about.
No one noticed that as the outermost of the horsemen galloped by, he turned his head to shoot a glance at the Hu merchant. But after just a glimpse, he turned his head back around, his movements so swift that one might think it was just an illusion.
”Not there!”
Several hundred zhang in front of the Hu merchant, the other horsemen had turned to the outermost one.
”No! This one was also wrong.”
The horseman knew what his comrades wanted, but he could only spread apart his hands and shake his head.
……
As one piece of news returned to the City of Steel after another, Wang Chong and his subordinates were all focused on the miniature model of Qixi in front of them.
”One, two, three… Two of Fumeng Lingcha's trusted aides headed to the Tibetan Plateau, most likely on a task related to the base we set up at the triangular gap. As for the other five, three have been eliminated, leaving only two. That item must be with one of them.”
Wang Chong had a hand propped under his chin while his other hand was unconsciously tapping its fingers against the table.
”Cheng Sanyuan, any news from Zhang Que?” Wang Chong said.
He never liked to place his hopes on a single person or group. Fumeng Lingcha was not someone to be underestimated, and the tens of thousands of soldiers at Talas and the survival of the Great Tang were on the line.
”Lord Marquis, everything is under our control. Zhang Que's rock eagles are currently tracking the enemy,” Cheng Sanyuan deferentially said.
Wang Chong was placing a never-before-seen amount of focus on this matter, causing everyone else to turn grim and cautious. Zhang Que was maintaining a constant line of communications with the City of Steel. Every five minutes, one bird would arrive and one bird would leave.
As Old Eagle's disciple of many years, Zhang Que was an extremely experienced trainer of birds. In his several months in the Western Regions, he had used his unique advantage to buy and train several hundred rock eagles. Sixty to seventy were already up to the standard, and the rest of the rock eagles were still in training. These rock eagles were the foundation of Zhang Que's 'eagle team'.
And the rock eagle perched on Zhang Que's shoulder had become the king of this eagle team.
At this moment, this large number of eagles was playing a critical role, constantly feeding information back to the City of Steel.
”Tell Zhang Que to not let his guard down. In addition, notify Xu Keyi to continue his investigation. We need to find the man with the black jade tattoo on his arm. The item we're seeking will definitely be on him.”
Wang Chong propped both hands on the model of Qixi as he gave orders.
The truth was gradually beginning to emerge. Only two people were left. For a moment, the room was quiet, everyone taking a breather as they waited for Xu Keyi's final report. But things did not develop in the way they expected.
”Reporting!”
Around an hour later, a scout rushed into the room in a panic.
”Lord Xu has sent back word. The last two targets suddenly began to turn back. Lord Xu asks what he should do next. Should we continue the operation?”